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Sussex makes UK’s top ten in latest university rankings

The University of Sussex has been placed 8th in the UK, 16th in Europe and 79th in the world in the Times Higher Education magazine's 2010-2011 World University Rankings.

The results, which make Sussex the highest-ranked among the research-intensive 1994 Group of universities, set Sussex alongside some of the world's most prestigious institutions.

A new methodology, focussing on teaching quality, research volume and income, research impact (measured by citations), industry income and international mix of staff and students, was used to produce the league table that is intended to reflect objective evidence rather than historic reputation.

University of Sussex Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Farthing attributes the success of Sussex in recent years to major improvements in the student experience and a particularly strong research portfolio. The THE league table ranks Sussex 4th in the UK for the impact of its research as measured by its research citation counts.

Professor Farthing says: "New student programmes, new facilities, new approaches to teaching and learning - all of these initiatives have augmented the University's individual approach to research and teaching. But what is really making a difference is the impact of our research. Our citation score indicates that we are producing research of outstanding quality.

"I am confident that we will see further advances in the years to come, and that Sussex will have real cause for celebration of its achievements when it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011-12."

Ann Mroz, editor of the Times Higher Education magazine, congratulated the University of Sussex, saying: "Being ranked 79 in the world top 200 is an impressive achievement. The top 200 universities in the world represent only a tiny fraction of world higher education and any institution that makes it into this table is truly world class."

This latest ranking rounds off a clutch of impressive results for the University of Sussex in 2010:

The league table rankings tally with student opinion, with Sussex ranked joint 7th nationally in 2010's National Student Survey.

The THE table, produced for the first time this year by Thomson Reuters, includes an invitation-only reputation survey of over 13,000 verified academics conducted by Ipsos Mori and more rigorous and comprehensive criteria.